At The Movies

• What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
• Triple-headed movie review. The first one I watched on DVD a couple of nights ago, Be Kind, Rewind. This is a weird movie. The parts where the two main characters remake old movies are laugh-out-loud funny, but they're not actually the crux of the film. It's more of a story about the juxtaposition of old-fashioned small town life versus the big culture of mass marketing that spreads everywhere. It has its moments, though the first bit is kind of slow and hard to get into.
• Went this morning to see Wanted. If you like summer action films, this is the one for you. James McAvoy is a great actor and he's great in this movie, but what really makes it are a wide variety of Matrix-ish special effects and a very fast pace. It's a bit too stylish at points and the plot isn't "wow" but if you're going to the movies to have fun, you won't be disappointed.
• In fact, we had so much fun that we decided to catch another movie today, which was The Happening (working title: Al Gore's Wet Dream). It's a post-9/11 eco-horror film that reminded me at times, in the theme and style, of the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The way it's shot is almost amateur, but since Shyamalan is such a great director, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he did it on purpose. It involves some sort of airborne toxin that causes people to commit suicide and the attempt at escape from the crisis by a science teacher, his wife, and his friend's daughter. It's more than a little preachy, but it succeeds in filling you with this overwhelming dread. While there are a few parts that are actually scary, most of the time you're just worrying that something bad will happen on the screen, or outside when you go to your car, or anywhere else you set foot. Definitely not the movie for everyone.
• Random Thoughts/Links:
• Picked up Guitar Hero: Aerosmith today. Good selection of Aerosmith songs (no "Crying" or "Amazing" or "Crazy") and a nice selection of songs from other bands, like "Dream Police" by Cheap Trick or "Sex Type Thing" by STP. Seems like they also made it a little easier in some respects, though parts like the guitar solo in "Walk This Way" are still ridiculous.
• First day since we moved where there wasn't pressure to unpack or rush around. Good day.
• Daily Rant:
• Here's what you need to know about our economy: A coworker had her car broken into and credit cards stolen. Did the people go to Best Buy and pick up a big screen? Nope, they went and bought nine tanks of gas for themselves and their friends. No word on whether their last name is Valjean.